Adaptation and Awareness of Passive Design Strategies in Contemporary Houses of Lahore, Pakistan

Passive strategies help us to achieve sustainable and environment-friendly, low-impact designs and solutions. Adaptation of these depends on climatic constraints and specific use, for instance, ventilation and natural lighting. To achieve a low carbon economy, mitigation approaches are incorporated worldwide where thermal comfort is achieved without using active means. These techniques can be adopted in all climates around the world, with respect to ventilation, orientation, thermal mass, shading devices, daylighting, etc. To cater to the challenges of climate change, mitigation approaches are being incorporated worldwide in the architecture industry to reduce reliance on active means. Their application not only improves health and well-being but is also energy efficient regarding electricity consumption and provides economic benefits for the users. The application of passive design is well-seen in commercial and residential projects. To understand the prospects of passive strategies, the research is carried out to identify current awareness and adaptation potential among architects and their clients in the residential sector of Lahore, Pakistan. The research survey has been done in the form of a questionnaire designed to analyze the application of passive design strategies by architects, awareness among their clients in contemporary residential architecture of Lahore, Pakistan. The research findings show that architects are well aware and positively use these strategies, however there is a gap in the awareness of clients. Most clients preferred active means, while a few clients were inclined towards passive means. The need to make clients more aware of the benefits of these strategies was a highlighted outcome.